Window clothes-line support.



T. A. MACDONALD. WINDOW CLOTHES LINE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.15,1909.

943,433. Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

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T. A. MACDONALD.

WINDOW CLOTHES LINE SUPPORT.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MAR.15,1909.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

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THOMAS A. MACDONALD, OF CLIFTON, NEW/V JERSEY.

WINDOW CLOTHES-LINE SUPPORT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. lvlacnon- ALD, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Clifton, in the county of Passaic, State ofNew J ersey, have invented an Improvement in \Vindow ClothesLineSupports, of which the following is a specification.

The use of clothes-line attachments for windows of tenement andapartment houses and the like, is attended by a great number of seriousand often fatal accidents by reason of the fact that in placing clotheson, or removing them from, the line, the washerwoman often leans too farout of the window or is pulled out by the sudden parting of the lineunder the weight imposed on it.

I have devised an improved clothes-line "support adapted for attachmentto a window frame by means of a universal joint whereby it is adapted tobe swung into different positions as required to enable clothes to beeasily placed on or removed from the line, and also to be swung intohorizontal position when not required for use.

A special object of the invention is to provide a clothes-line supportof this character which shall be further distinguished by simplicity,strength, cheapness, and ease of operation.

The details of construction, combination, and operation of the inventionare as hereinafter described and illustrated in'the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure l is a perspective view showing my inventionapplied to a window and in the position in which it is adjusted for use.

I Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the window frame with thepivoted bar, to which the clothes-line is attached, adjusted in theposition required when clothes are to be placed on or removed from theline. Fig. 3 is a face or front view of a portion of the window framewith the clothes support or hanger in the vertical position shown inFig. 1. Figs. 4:, 5, 6 (of Sheet 2) and Fig. 7 (of Sheet 1) are detailsectional and perspective views which will be hereinafter dulydescribed.

The clothes-line support or hanger proper A is in the nature of acomposite bar, the same being formed of iron tubes 1, the outer onesbeing screwed into a tee 2 which forms the pivot and is for that purposesecured to the outer side of the window frame 00 by Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed March 15, 1909.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909. Serial No. 483,521.

means so constructed as to form a universal joint, as will be furtherdescribed. A pulley 3 is swiveled to each end of the bar A, and anendless rope B runs on the same and also over pulleys 4 that areattached to a pole or to an opposite house, or other building. A part ofthe swivel attachn'ient consists of a hook 5 (see Fig. having an eye orband 5 that embraces the bar sections 1 adjacent to their ends, to whicha screw-cap (i is applied. The hook 5 is thus free to rotate on the barsection or tube 1, but is held from accidental detachment as will bereadily understood. By this swiveled attachment, the pulleys 3 areadapted to turn and assume any angle, so that the rope B will run easilywhatever be the angle of the rope to the window or the side of the housein which the window is placed. In other words, it is sometimes necessarythat the rope shall be attached to a pole or house placed laterally orat the right or left from the window where the hanger proper A isattached, instead of being attached to a pole or opposite house at apoint directly opposite the window. The

pulleys A are also swiveled in order to insure that they will easilyassume any angle so that the rope will run on them with great ease.

The details of construction of the universal joint by which the hangeror clothesline support A is attached to the windowframe w,-areillustrated in Figs. l and 7. The nipple of the tee 2 is screwed 011 apivot tube 7 which rotates in the horizontal portion of another tee 8whose lateral projection 9 is provided with an enlarged disk-like base;see particularly Fig. 7. A screw-cap 10 is applied to the outer end ofthe tube 7 so that the hanger proper is held detachably in the bearing.A keeper 11, formed of two parts adapted to embrace and receive the footor base of the tee 8, is screwed to the window-frame a. Thus the tee 8is adapted to be readily connected with, or detached from, the keeper11; but, as will be seen, itis free to rotate therein. The tube 7,connected with the tee 2 being also adapt ed to rotate in the tee 8, itis obvious that a universal oint is formed. In other words, the barconstituting the hanger or clothes-line support A is adapted to swing ina vertical plane and also in a horizontal plane. It is necessary toprovide a stop and holder for the bar A in each of its two positions. To

this end, I employ open spring hooks 12 and 13, one (12) being attachedto the outer side of the window frame, near the sill and the other tothe inner side of the frame near the edge of the upper sash. As shown inFig. 6, the spring hooks are so constructed as to embrace more thanone-half of the diameter of the top 1 constituting part of the bar A andhence when the tube enters the spring catch, the latter being slightlysmaller it grips the tube elastically and with suflicient force to holdthe bar or hanger A quite firmly, so that it will retain the vertical orhorizontal position required.

The general operation and manner of using the clothes-line support willnow be apparent. When it is desired to hang clothes on the line B or toremove them therefrom, the bar A is swung into horizontal position andsecured by the spring hook 13 as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, theclothes being applied to the lower run of the line, piece by piece; thenthe bar A is swung on its pivot into vertical position, as shown in Fig.1, whereby the lower run or strand of the rope B is lowered as thereshown. The clothes are left in this position until dried, when thehanger or bar A is swung back to the horizontal position and the clothesmay be conveniently removed from the line as the lower strand or portionis drawn in.

As will be observed, particularly in Fig. 2, the pulleys 3 turn to anyposition required to accommodate the rope B in either of the twopositions, and, as before intimated, they will also assume any positionrequired to accommodate a laterally oblique or inclined position of therope.

The pivotally mounted tee 8 allows the arm 1 to be swung from thevertical position shown in Fig. 1, and vice versa, without undesirableengagement between the line B and hook 12.

It will be seen that my improved apparatus combines maximum simplicity,lightness, and cheapness, and may be very easily operated; further, thatits parts may be easily and quickly detached from each other, so thatthey are adapted to be packed compactly for storage or transportation.The weight of the entire apparatus enables it to be shipped with smallexpense.

What I claim is:

1. In a clothes-line support of the type indicated, the hangercomprising alined tubular sections and a connecting tee, means forpivotally mounting said tee, hooks applied rotatably to the ends of thesections, and screw-caps for holding the hooks in place in the mannerdescribed.

2. In a clothes-line support of the type indicated, the improved hangercomprising alined tubular sections and a tee connecting them and havinga laterally extended pivot, and a keeper in which such pivot isjournaled and adapted to rotate, and means for securing the pivot andthereby the hanger proper, detachably, as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a clothes-line support, comprising a barpivoted and adapted to swing vertically and provided with pulleys forcarrying a line, of combined stops and holders consisting of open springhooks secured to the window-frame and constructed to embrace the bar andgrip the same elastically, substantially as described.

THOMAS A. MACDONALD.

\Vitnesses:

SoLoN C. KEMoN, Amos W. HART.

